


Press Restart

by bigenderbabe



Category: Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: College AU, First Kiss, M/M, Reincarnation, Soulmate AU, both canon era and modern au? i promise it makes sense, kinda angsty in the beginning, the race/jack thing is really brief and virtually nonexistant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-04 21:52:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12780282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigenderbabe/pseuds/bigenderbabe
Summary: Davey got up and started toward the door in light of having nothing else to say. He paused, turning back towards Jack.“Maybe in another dimension.” Davey’s voice was soft, but strained.“Yeah,” Jack agreed as Davey shut the door.





	1. it's not an ending, maybe it's a beginning

From the moment Davey had appeared in Newsie Square with his little brother in tow, Jack knew there was something special about him. They had naturally gravitated towards each other, Jack’s loud and assertive personality was almost the polar opposite of Davey’s soft-spoken and smart being, but they worked surprisingly well together. 

Jack didn’t really know when it started happening but sometimes he found himself sitting too close to Davey, or holding eye contact with him for little too long. But Davey didn’t really seem to mind. That soon escalated to Davey coming up with excuses to hold his hand, then to Jack’s eyes wandering to Davey’s lips when he spoke. These actions were usually accompanied by a feeling of lightness in stomach that made his face go red. Jack knew these feelings weren’t exactly normal, he didn’t feel like this when Race would drape his legs over his lap when they would eat lunch together, or when Crutchie would wipe the dirt off his face and they would get almost uncomfortably close to each other. He couldn’t really help himself though, there was just _something_ about Davey made him feel strange.

Then they were walking through an alley, the afternoon edition was long finished selling and the pair was attempting to make it home by sunset.

Davey was telling some story of something that had happened to him in school and Jack couldn’t take his eyes off of him. There was one more button unbuttoned on Davey’s shirt than usual, exposing a section of skin on the juntuce of his neck and shoulder that was slightly paler than the rest of him. His cheeks were tinted pink from a mixture of sun and laughing, his eyes were shining in the quickly setting sun. Jack was barely listening to what his companion was saying. 

Davey had grabbed Jack’s hand, stirring him from his daze. 

“Are you even listening to me, Jackie?” He was almost breathless. Jack’s eyes flitted down to Davey’s lips and he shook his head.

Davey didn’t say anything, the air was electrified between them. He stepped closer to Jack, almost bumping their shoes together. 

“I’m sorry,” Jack whispered, tentatively looking into Davey’s eyes.

Then they were kissing, they weren’t quite sure who had initiated it, but now Davey was pinned up against the brick wall of one of the buildings that lined the alleyway. This was dangerous, they could be caught and imprisoned, or even killed, depending on who found them. But really all Jack could focus on was the feeling of Davey’s lips sliding against his and the noises coming from the boy underneath him. He couldn’t help but smile against Davey’s skin.

They continued this routine for a long time after this, selling together and then making a detour into a lesser used alley on the walk home. Jack wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 

_

Slowly as the boys got older, they grew apart. Davey eventually went back to school and Jack became too old to sell enough papes. They still occasionally met back up and reprised their teenage shenanigans, whether it be in the dark of Medda’s theater after it had closed for the night, or the rooftop of the Jacob’s apartment building. 

Until one night Davey had pushed Jack away when he leaned in. Jack was taken back but immediately backed off and gave the boy opposite of him the space he wanted.

“I, uh, I’m engaged, Jack,” 

Jack’s tongue felt too big for his mouth as he tried to form a reply. His brain was short curriting, and nothing felt real. Since when did Davey have an interest in girls?

Jack let out a dark laugh, “Who’s the lucky gal, Dave?”

Davey flushed and looked down at his hands, “Our parents introduced us, She’s sweet,”

The air went stale, as the two floundered for something else to say. 

“I’m sorry,” was all Davey could say.

“I understand,” Jack said, because he knew it would come to this at some point. He knew their little rendezvous wouldn’t last forever, but, he couldn’t keep himself from hoping.

Davey got up and started toward the door in light of having nothing else to say. He paused, turning back towards Jack.

“Maybe in another dimension.” Davey’s voice was soft, but strained.

“Yeah,” Jack agreed as Davey shut the door. 

With the click of the door against the frame, the glasslike atmosphere shattered and Jack sat back down on his stool. He placed his head in his hands and didn’t move for a long while.


	2. one look and my heartbeat stops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I don’t know to explain it but, I feel like I’ve met him before? But not on campus, somewhere else.” Davey couldn’t wrap his head around it. He had barely even seen his face, but he had felt like he knew it by heart already. 
> 
> “Is that it?” Albert sighed and rested his chin on his hand, “Is that what you woke me up for? To say you recognized a boy that Race is doing?”

College was slowly tearing Davey apart. He had an essay to write, a research project to coordinate, and he hadn’t slept more than three hours in four days. It was nearing 1 in the morning and he was hunched over at his desk when the door to his dorm opened. He suspected it was just his roommate coming home after a night out, but he then realized there was another person with the aforementioned roommate. David turned around and come face to face with the most beautiful boy he’d ever seen, draped over the arm of his roommate, Racetrack.

David gaped at the familiarity of the boy’s wavy hair, painted stained skin and the newsboy cap sitting on his head. His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember where he had seen this guy before, then shook his head, reading the situation and realizing he should get out of their way.

He grabbed his laptop and notebook before he ducking around the giggling pair and walking out the door. “Be safe!” he said as he closed the door behind him. He walked down the hall and knocked on the door of his friend, Albert.

It took a moment but soon a rustled looking Albert appeared at the door, “W’dya want?” he asked, his words slurring together.

“Race brought a boy over and I need to talk to you about him,” Davey’s voice was urgent, waking Albert up slightly.

“Let’s discuss then,”

A few minutes later, Davey had a cup of tea and was wrapped in a blanket his friend’s small couch. Albert sat down next to him and picked his discarded snapback up from the desk next to them. 

“Alright, what’s up?” Albert yawned as he placed his hat on his head.

“Race brought a boy over,” Davey said, staring into his tea intensely. 

Albert snorted, “So I’ve heard.”

David slapped him lightly on the arm, “Shut up, I’m still talking,”

“Go on, then,” Albert said, reclining back into the couch and looking expectantly at the boy opposite of him.  
“I don’t know to explain it but, I feel like I’ve met him before? But not on campus, somewhere else.” Davey couldn’t wrap his head around it. He had barely even seen his face, but he had felt like he knew it by heart already. 

“Is that it?” Albert sighed and rested his chin on his hand, “Is that what you woke me up for? To say you recognized a boy that Race is doing?”

“But it’s more than that! I felt connected to him, somehow. I don’t know how to explain it but I feel like I knew him, once.” Davey placed his mug on the floor and anxiously cracked his knuckles. 

“Wait,” Albert sat up, eyes going wide, and grabbed his friend’s arm. “Holy shit, dude.” 

Davey turned to him and made a questioning noise.

“He’s gotta be your soulmate, you know?” 

Davey rolled his eyes and laughed slightly, “Ha ha, very funny Al.”

Albert shook his head slowly and looked Davey in the eyes, “I ain’t joking. My grandma used to tell me and my brothers about how her and my grandpa were soulmates, how they met in another life.”

Davey cocked his head to the side, confused by what Albert was saying. That guy couldn’t be his soulmate, could he?

“She told us that when they met, all these memories from their past lives came back. Maybe since you only got to look at him, you just got a few vague memories?”

Davey put his head in his hands, “This is ridiculous,” he whispered.

Albert rubbed a comforting hand on his shoulder, “Was he cute?” he asked with a smile.

Davey moved one of his hands and smacked Albert in the chest. “Obviously! But he’s screwing Race currently, need I remind you.”

“Well, he won’t be for long once he gets a good look at you.” Albert winked, even though Davey couldn’t see him. 

“Shut up!”


	3. i’ve got the strangest feeling, this isn’t our first time around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Davey shook his head and came back to reality. He looked at the boys across from him to see Jack staring at him with a dopey grin on his face.
> 
> “You saw it too, right?” He asked, his eyes held a look of hopefulness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note for chpt 2: so i’m gonna give a lil background on how soulmates work in this universe. basically it’s very very unlikely, virtually unheard of, that a person will meet their true soulmate, which is why Davey didn’t understand what was happening when he first saw Jack. I haven’t decided if i’m gonna include anymore soulmate pairings as background relationships yet, but there are gonna be some background relationships at least. also this is super short & i haveng has time to write another chapter to post at the same time as this one

Davey never thought he would be nervous about walking into his own dorm, but the thought of seeing his possible soulmate in bed with his roommate made him feel sick. 

Davey took a deep breath and pushed the door open, purposefully averting his eyes from Race’s side of the room. Upon not receiving any reaction after entering, he turned to see Race and the boy passed out on top of each other, but in a completely innocent, sleepover type way.

Davey breathed out a sigh of relief and sat down at this desk to continue working on his essay. 

After about 15 minutes of Davey sitting in silence, Race stirred and opened his eyes.

“Hey Dave,” he said, his voice thick with sleep. 

“Good morning, Race,” Davey, replied without taking his eyes off his screen, “Are you gonna introduce me to your friend over there?” 

Race yawned loudly before speaking, “Maybe once he wakes up. He kept asking about you last night. You know ‘im?” 

Well that was an interesting development. Unnamed boy was talking about him, which meant he might have felt something similar to Davey. He could only hope that was the case. 

After a few minutes of light chatter between the two and Davey attempting to not overthink the situation, the unnamed boy moved.

Davey was still at his desk, facing away from Race’s bed when he heard a familiar voice say “good morning” with a yawn. His blood ran cold. He squeezed his eyes shut as nausea overtook him and images of himself selling newspapers with his little brother and racing through the streets of what he thought was New York with the unnamed boy filled his head. He opened his eyes slowly and tried to focus back on his laptop and not whatever was happening behind him.

“You good, Davey?” Race asked, sensing the tension radiating from his roommate, “You still want me to introduce you to him, or is that essay too interesting?” 

Davey went still. A name sounded in his ears. _Jack._ His name was Jack Kelly. 

Another wave of nausea came in as more memories came back in flashes. _The Newsboy Strike of 1899, he was there and so was Jack. They were fighting side by side. In his peripheral, he could see Race was there too._

He took a deep breath, before turning in his chair to face the pair. The two had moved apart and were sitting up, leaning against the wall. 

Davey made eye contact with Jack right as he was opening his mouth to introduce himself when he saw it.

_Him and Jack, in an alleyway. They were kissing, Davey was up against the brick wall, Jack was holding him there. Then they were on the roof of his family’s apartment building, stargazing. Jack’s arm was around him. Then Jack was giving Les a piggyback ride down a busy street, while Davey walked behind them. Then they were in a dimly lit room and Jack looked upset. Davey was almost crying as he twisted a ring on his finger, then he was leaving._

Davey shook his head and came back to reality. He looked at the boys across from him to see Jack staring at him with a dopey grin on his face.

“You saw it too, right?” He asked, his eyes held a look of hopefulness.

“Jack,” was all Davey could say, as he didn’t trust himself to form a coherent sentence right then. 

“Am I missing something here?” Race asked, gesturing between the other two.

Davey’s face split into a grin. “Well it appears Dave, here, is my soulmate,” Jack said as he stood and crossed the room towards his newly found soulmate. He crouched down in front of Davey and tenitively placed a hand on his knee. 

“Holy shit,” Race whispered, he stood up from his bed and walked towards the door. “I’m just gonna leave so you two can have some space,” He said before closing the door behind him. 

His departure went unnoticed as Davey was now pulling Jack into a bone crushing hug.

“I missed you,” He whispered into the other boy’s hair.

“I missed you too.”


	4. there's no one i'd dare compare to you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Davey then realized he wanted to listen to Jack’s laugh for the rest of his life. Which seems like a rash statement to make when he’s known the other boy for less than a day, but they’re soulmates, so it’s okay, right?

That afternoon found the pair out at a local coffee shop, trying to catch up with each other.  
But Davey couldn’t stop looking at Jack sheer astonishment, complete with the slack jaw and all, and Jack couldn’t stop laughing at him. Then Davey would start laughing at him and it would continue in circle.

Davey took a breath and let his face fall into a fond smile, “In all seriousness, tell me what I’ve missed in the past hundred years.”

Jack huffed out a laugh, “Well, y’know, Medda adopted me in this life, along with Crutchie. She ran a little community theater, so we did shows when we were younger. Crutch’s studying theatre tech actually, costume design mainly. I’m focusing more on physical art, y’know painting and all that.”

“Of course, how could I forget your paintings? Oh, God, those backdrops were always so nice,” Davey sighed.

“If you thought those were good, you should check out what I’ve done recently,” Jack punctuated his sentence with a sip of coffee.

Davey nodded and took a sip of his drink as well. From what he could remember, the day he met Jack, he had took him and Les to Medda’s theater where he had seen Jack’s artwork for the first time. It was a simple pastel backdrop depicting some trees and Davey was astounded by it. He had never met anyone that could paint like that before. His works weren’t as refined as a classically trained artist, but it gave his art certain charm that made you not want to look away.

Davey slipped out of his thoughts when he heard Jack’s voice, “Well, what about you, Dave?”

“Uh, Sarah and Les are still my siblings in this life, we grew up around Boston and I moved out here for college. Sarah’s actually going to school here too,” Davey paused for moment, suddenly forgetting everything interesting that has happened to him ever. “I’m studying to be a writer, and uh, I’ve got a pet snake.”

Jack’s eyes widened comically as he exclaimed, “A snake! That’s so cool!” 

“She’s pretty great, her names Betsy,” Davey laughed.

“That’s awesome, Can I meet her?” 

“Absolutely,” Davey agreed.

“So, going past Betsy, writing, huh? That sounds like a lot of work.” Jack said.

“Yeah, it’s pretty stressful.” Davey took another sip of his drink.

“Have you met Katherine yet? Y’know, Katherine Plumber? I know she’s big in the writing department,” Jack asked.

Davey laughed quietly, “So, funny story, I know Katherine pretty well, considering she’s dating Sarah.”

Jack threw his head back and laughed, “Oh my god, I knew that! I knew that! How did I not make the connection earlier?”

Davey then realized he wanted to listen to Jack’s laugh for the rest of his life. Which seems like a rash statement to make when he’s known the other boy for less than a day, but they’re soulmates, so it’s okay, right?

After several hours of catching up and maybe a little hand holding, Jack walked Davey back to his apartment. The two prepared to say their goodbyes but as Davey went to unlock the door, he stopped and looked at Jack.

“Sorry if I’m overstepping but, uh, what was going on with you and Race last night?” 

“Nothing much, we’d met a few times before and we kinda planned to hook up but, then we vaguely met and my mind did that memory thing and I wouldn’t stop asking about you. Race decided that we shouldn't actually go through with it and ended up just watching a movie.” Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Davey started at the other boy for a minute before speaking, “That’s oddly endearing. Goodnight Jack.” He almost turned and went into the apartment then and there, but quickly surged forward and pecked Jack on the cheek and promptly went inside.

Jack stood there for a minute, just staring at the now closed door and smiling fondly. “Goodnight Davey,” He whispered before he headed toward the stairs. 

——— 

The pair didn’t have much time to see each other in the coming week. Exams were upon them and Davey was not going to let anyone interrupt his study time. Not even his very persistent and attractive sort of boyfriend-soulmate. 

At was at the twentieth text and third missed phone call of the day when Jack showed up at Davey’s door and was not going to take no for an answer. Well, he would if Davey seemed uncomfortable, but he was not going to let him wither away in front of his laptop screen. 

“David Ezra Jacobs, if you don’t open this door right now I will get Albert to come and kick it down for me.” Jack said sternly, but slightly, muffled through the door.

Davey sighed and relinquished, realizing he wasn't going to get any work done with Jack, and possibly Albert, beating down his door. 

“How do you even know my middle name?” Davey sighed as he let Jack inside, who promptly flopped down on the other boy’s bed. 

“Hey Jack! It’s nice to see you too!” Jack mocked, to which Davey groaned in response. 

“Hey, hey don’t be like that. I’m here to save you from the hell of studying and listening to the same _Death Cab For Cutie_ album for the tenth time today!” Jack smiled and opened his arms, hoping Davey would relinquish and relax with him. 

“First, in my defense, _Plans_ is a musical masterpiece and it’s good study music, and second, no.” Davey said, sitting back in his desk chair and went back to staring blankly at his essay. 

Jack stood up and spun his chair around, so Davey was facing him, “Ah, ah, ah. You need to get out of the house. You’ve been sitting in here for the last 2 days and I miss you.” Jack crouched down and rested his elbows on Davey’s thighs, putting on the puppy dog eyes for good measure. 

Davey sighed and a ran a hand through his hair, “Fine,” he relinquished, earning a cheer of celebration from Jack, “let me shower first and then I’ll do whatever you want.” 

About an hour later the boys were walking hand in hand down a path leading to a park at the edge of campus. 

“See?” Jack grinned, “It feels good to be outside, right?”

Davey had to agree. As much as he wanted to continue working on his essay, it felt much better to feel the chilly air on his skin and Jack’s hand against his. 

Even though the two had only known each other in this life for a little over a week, Davey had never felt more comfortable with anyone. Albert was a close second, along with Sarah. But Jack was definitely different. His easy going nature and passionate eyes just made Davey feel so at home. 

“Y’know,” Davey said as the pair sat down under an oak tree, “I’m really glad we met again.” 

Jack’s cheeks flushed slightly, “Aw Dave, no need to get all sappy on me now,” 

Davey rested his head against Jack’s shoulder, “I’m serious, you goof, take the compliment.”

“Fine, fine. I accept your compliment. But for the record, uh, I’m glad we met too.” Jack placed a hand on Davey’s knee and rubbed small circles into his jeans. 

The two stayed like that for a while, chatting quietly. But before he knew it, Davey was dozing off. Maybe it was his lack of sleep or the stillness of the air, but it was mostly the warm from Jack’s side and his calming presence. All of Davey’s anxiety from the past few days melted away as he shut his eyes.

After what seemed like five minutes, Davey was being shaken awake. 

“C’mon Davey boy, let’s get back to your dorm so you can get some actual sleep.” Jack said softly, pulling him to his feet. Davey sleepily nodded and follow the other boy to his dorm room. 

Once Davey was situated in his bed, his eyes barely open, Jack turned and started toward the door. 

“Wait,” Davey mumbled from his bed, “Stay?” 

Jack melted, but began to refuse. He knew Davey was pretty delirious from his messed up sleep schedule and didn't want to take advantage of that but Davey’s pleading voice and cute face made it impossible to even get any words out of his mouth. He just nodded and kicked off his shoes, sliding into the bed too small bed with the other boy. 

Davey slipped his arms around Jack’s waist and snuggled his head in under his chin. He sighed quietly as Jack rested a hand in his hair. They stayed like that for a moment before Davey pulled back and sat up.

“What’s wrong Dave?” Jack asked, sitting up as well. 

“Forgot something,” He replied, his voice slightly hoarse.

Before Jack could ask, Davey had pressed his lips against Jack’s and was _kissing_ him. He wasted no time in reciprocating. 

Davey pulled back after a minute and smiled, “You’re a good kisser,” 

Jack laughed, “You’re not so bad yourself,”

Davey hummed in response before laying back down and pulling Jack down with him. 

As Davey slept soundly on his chest, Jack thought of their past life. Memories of similar experiences came back to him, Davey falling asleep on his bunk at the boarding house, Davey’s head against his shoulder as they shared a sandwich on a street corner, himself passed out in Davey’s lap after he had drank a bottle of stolen beer. Jack smiled and pulled Davey a little closer, the warmth of happiness and pride filling his stomach.

He recalled Davey’s last words to him that day in the theater, “Maybe in another dimension.” 

At the time, those words only filled him with a medley of sadness and self loathing, a sense of loss and hatred for the entire world. But Davey was right, there was another dimension, and they were there now, together, with nothing to keep them apart. Jack wished he could go back in time and tell his past self not to worry, that Davey would be his again soon. But instead of dwelling on that, Jack kissed the top of Davey’s head and closed his eyes, falling asleep with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND THAT'S A WRAP ON PRESS RESTART WOOHOO!! this fic has been giving me hell since i posted chapter 2, but here we are and i'm highkey proud of how i ended it. But i don't believe this is the end of the PR universe,,,, there may be a sequel somewhere in the future, so stay tuned if you're interested. 
> 
> i have a small playlist of songs that i listened to while writing this, if anyone's interested i can link it. it includes that songs that were used for chapter titles, press restart by walk the moon (obviously) and a few other ones that's fit the story. 
> 
> leave me a comment and tell me what you thought pls!!
> 
> tumblr: @greatcometlesbian

**Author's Note:**

> SO i should be focusing on my other javid fic *cough*checkoutalover'sdictionary*cough* but i listened to press restart by walk the moon too many times and got this idea and dropped everything to start writing it  
> the chapters are kinda short but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ theres gonna be a few of them 
> 
> anyway follow me on tumblr and talk to me about walk the moon or race: @landmarkslovers


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